General Assembly approves ban on sweepstakes cafes

The General Assembly approved a ban on Internet "sweepstakes cafes" this week, which could derail plans to open two such cafes in Newport News.

Some liken the cafes to illegal gambling, but those that operate them insist it's not gambling.

The bill now awaits Gov. Bob McDonnell's signature.

The ban would make it illegal for sweepstakes cafes to operate in Virginia, said Del. G. Glenn Oder, R-Newport News. The cafes have already opened in more than a dozen communities statewide.

Oder, who sponsored the ban, said the idea is to prohibit gambling while still allowing games like McDonald's "Monopoly" to exist. "This closes the loophole," Oder said.

But it may not be that simple.

The same owner who proposed two locations in Newport News, one in the Denbigh Village Shopping Center and the other in Bayberry Village plaza on J. Clyde Morris Boulevard, also owns locations in North Carolina.

Jim "Sunbeam" Sutherland, owner of a sweepstakes café in Elizabeth City and three other locations in North Carolina, kept his cafes open in North Carolina despite a state ban on sweepstakes cafes that went into effect last year.

Sutherland previously said they are following the new law in North Carolina because the games do not require a purchase to win.

In the Newport News proposal, patrons can buy computer time at $15 per hour to surf the internet or to play games that reveal whether they have won a prize. But there is no requirement to purchase computer time to see whether they've won the prize. Instead, patrons can fill out free forms that also give them a chance at winning prizes. Newport News City Manager Neil Morgan said the issue is due to come back again before City Council this spring. Morgan said that unless the proposal is withdrawn, the city's law department will evaluate the sweepstakes cafés to see how they comply with the new law.

"Did they change the law in such a way that it makes what they're proposing unlawful, or not?" Morgan said.

Councilman Bert Bateman has indicated he would vote against sweepstakes, but Mayor McKinley Price has said that he didn't see how the Council could vote against it as long as it was a lawful activity.

Sweepstakes cafes banned

The General Assembly approved bans for sweepstakes cafes in Virginia, which could end plans to open two such cafes in Newport News. The issue is set to come back to the Newport News City Council in March or April.